Where we work

In the next twenty years, with the rapid expansion and industrialization of extractive industries, we will see a dramatic reduction in the amount of wilderness outside of protected areas in central Africa. We are tackling this time sensitive issue, ensuring we have chosen the best areas to focus our conservation efforts and that protected areas are being effectively managed. In doing this we strive to find solutions that avoid adverse impacts on local communities, but rather benefit these people.

We work in two national parks, two wildlife reserves, Congo’s only community reserve and in thousands of square kilometres of wilderness on the periphery of these protected areas. WCS Congo offers varying levels of support and management according to the needs of each of these areas. We work closely with government and local stakeholders in all the wild places we strive to conserve.

ndoki landscape

The Ndoki landscape project is centered on the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park (NNNP), which is managed by the Ndoki Foundation, a partnership between WCS and the Government of Congo. WCS also works in the NNNP Buffer Zone, where a partnership with the logging companies active in the area mitigates the negative impacts of logging and ensures that the Congo’s wildlife laws are respected. WCS has a long history of conservation science in the forests of the Republic of Congo, with the information that is collected being used to make informed conservation decisions.

conkouati-douli national park

Conkouati covers 5045 km2 extending from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, through beach and coastal habitat, lagoons and mangroves, savannah and wetlands to the mountainous zones of the Mayombian forest and the Niari savannah. The area’s broad spectrum of habitats is consequently home to an extraordinarily diverse range of fauna, with marine species such as manatees, turtles, dolphins and whales, and many threatened terrestrial species, including forest elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, mandrills and forest buffalo.

bateke plateaux

The primary geographic foci of the Bateke project are the proposed Ogooué Leketi National Park, which borders the Bateke Plateau National Park (BPNP) in Gabon, and the Lefini and Lesio Louna wildlife reserves in the central area. The formal gazettement of the Ogooué-Leketi National Park (OLNP) is a primary objective of the project. At the same time, the project supports the management of Lesio Louna and Lefini wildlife reserves that are in need of new investment and improved capacity to enable effective conservation.

lac tele community reserve

Created in 2001, Congo’s only community reserve forms part of the world’s largest swamp-forest, largest Ramsar site and second largest wetland. The landscape includes extraordinary biodiversity, with the highest known local densities of gorillas in the world, large populations of chimpanzees, as well as the full panoply of other forest creatures. The region’s people depend heavily on the reserve’s natural resources for fish, agriculture, construction materials, canoes and medicines.